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Teachers

South Dakota's Teacher Pay Ranks 46th in Nation, But Lawmakers Hope for Improvements

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

A teacher in South Dakota struggles to make ends meet, with an average salary of $56,328, ranking 46th in the nation. The state's target teacher salary is being used as a basis for the state's public education funding formula, which determines funding for teacher salaries, overhead costs, and other school workers. Despite a law passed in 2024 that sets a minimum teacher salary and mandates increases in average teacher compensation in school districts, the gap between the target teacher salary and the average teacher salary has widened in recent years.

Key Takeaways:

  • The average teacher salary in South Dakota is $56,328, ranking 46th in the nation, according to the National Education Association's 2025 teacher salary report.
  • The target teacher salary in South Dakota is $59,659, which is used as a basis for the state's public education funding formula.
  • The gap between the target teacher salary and the average teacher salary in South Dakota has widened in recent years, with the average salary falling short of the target by $3,331.
  • The 2024 law that sets a minimum teacher salary and mandates increases in average teacher compensation in school districts would have raised South Dakota's average teacher pay to $65,936, ranking 38th in the nation.
  • About 95% of South Dakota school districts met the state's mandated minimum salary of $45,000 last school year.
  • Teacher turnover rates in South Dakota are higher than in most surrounding states, with about 16% of teachers reporting that they no longer taught at the same school in April 2024.
  • Elementary and music teacher vacancies were higher than average at the beginning of the 2023-24 school year, and math and science teachers had high vacancy numbers ahead of the 2024-25 school year.
  • The overall vacancies in the state as of June of this year stood at 144, the second lowest number since 2019.

Statistics:

  • The average teacher salary in South Dakota is $56,328.
  • The target teacher salary in South Dakota is $59,659.
  • The gap between the target teacher salary and the average teacher salary in South Dakota is $3,331.
  • Teacher turnover rates in South Dakota are about 16% higher than in most surrounding states.
  • The overall vacancies in the state as of June of this year stood at 144, the second lowest number since 2019.

Sources:

  • National Education Association's 2025 teacher salary report: https://www.nea.org/resource-library/educator-pay-and-student-spending-how-does-your-state-rank?utm_medium=paid-search&utm_source=google&utm_campaign=rankings-estimates-report&utm_content=&ms=ads-rankings-estimates-report-se&gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=19606909831&gbraid=0AAAAAohHV9S4s7CQpf5fn21eQpK5B62-o&gclid=CjwKCAjwv5zEBhBwEiwAOg2YKAbff0pWmkkD5gFUM77pjBbbcHZ91MmnZnyjf00DIcHXDlOdIos2eBoCVnMQAvD_BwE
  • South Dakota Searchlight: Calls for better teacher pay coalesce into legislation: https://southdakotasearchlight.com/2024/02/03/calls-for-better-teacher-pay-coalesce-into-legislation/
  • South Dakota Teacher Compensation Review Board: TeacherComp_Presentation_2025_Final.pdf: https://boardsandcommissions.sd.gov/bcuploads/TeacherComp_Presentation_2025_Final.pdf
  • South Dakota Searchlight: US Education Department to unfreeze contested K-12 funds: https://southdakotasearchlight.com/2025/07/25/repub/us-education-department-to-unfreeze-contested-k-12-funds/
  • South Dakota Searchlight: South Dakota budget could face $24.5 million revenue shortfall, legislators learn: https://southdakotasearchlight.com/2025/07/25/south-dakota-budget-could-face-24-million-revenue-shortfall-legislators-learn/

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